Ben Rice’s three-run home run in the first inning set the tone and Max Fried delivered seven strong innings as the New York Yankees edged the Toronto Blue Jays, 4-3, on Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, taking two of three in the series to cut their American League East deficit to two games with 19 left.
Facing Max Scherzer, the Yankees struck early. Aaron Judge drew a walk, Cody Bellinger singled, and Rice followed with a three-run shot to right field, putting New York up 3-0. Bellinger later added an RBI double in the third to put New York back on top. Scherzer lasted 4.1 innings, giving up four runs on three hits while striking out eight and walking four.
Fried allowed three runs over seven innings, scattering six hits while striking out four. Defensive miscues nearly derailed his outing, a throwing error by Anthony Volpe in the third helped set up a game-tying RBI double by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. But Fried settled in, and a sliding grab by Judge in the fourth prevented further damage after another miscue, this time by catcher Austin Wells.
Holding a 4-3 lead in the eighth, reliever Devin Williams escaped a jam after allowing a leadoff single. He struck out Guerrero and induced a groundout to strand two runners. David Bednar closed it out in the ninth, erasing a one-out single when Austin Wells caught Nathan Lukes stealing, then retiring Myles Straw to end the game.
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After a day off Monday, the Yankees (80-63) welcome the Detroit Tigers (82-62) to the Bronx on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. for the first game of a three-game set.
Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].